


The Leader of the Landslide

by platonico



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Crying, Drunken Kissing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hugs, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Jos Verstappen's A+ Parenting, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:54:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27657797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/platonico/pseuds/platonico
Summary: Spa, 2017. After one night out celebrating his third place, Daniel comes back to his motorhome and finds a very drunk Max standing at his door.
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen
Comments: 5
Kudos: 90





	The Leader of the Landslide

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, readers! It’s me again with some Spa angst.  
> The truth is that I’ve re-watched the video of Daniel making a tour of his motorhome for the 2017 Belgian GP, and thought it would be fun to make up a situation in there, involving him and Max.  
> Anyway, hope you’ll enjoy it as much as the first fic!
> 
> Quick note on the title: it comes from the song “The Leader of the Landslide” by The Lumineers. It talks about abuse and alcoholism, and thought it would really be suitable for the situation (actually, check the whole album out, III. It’s an entire story on its own).  
> The expression indicates someone who causes literally a “slope failure”. I interpreted it as Max’s father being the primary source of Max’s melancholy and a metaphor for the downfall of his family.

_They fuck you up, your mum and dad._

_They may not mean to, but they do._

_\- Philip Larkin_

**Spa, 2017**

Even if it was technically still summer, Daniel couldn’t suppress a shiver while walking back to his motorhome. He had just been out to a little restaurant near Liege with his engineers and Michael, nothing too fancy or pompous to celebrate a third place.

Still, he was proud of his achievement: after his retirement during the Hungary GP, this win had boosted his self-esteem a little bit higher, and couldn’t stop smiling to himself all the way back home, adrenaline and excitement flowing through his body.

Even if he was still a little bit mad with Max for Hungary (Daniel called him an “amateur” and “a sore loser”, saying that he had to act “like a man” and to take responsibility for it, but when Max actually did it he was a little impressed. And that contributed to put it to one side. Just a little bit.), he smirked thinking that karma was _indeed_ a thing that turns around sooner or later.

That is, in fact, what had just happened the day of the race: while _he_ was the one who had to retire the car the previous week, now was Max who went DNF during Spa, for a problem on his power unit. Needless to say that the boy walked out of his one-seater fuming, so disappointed of himself.

However, even though Daniel felt like he had taken revenge on his teammate with his victory, he couldn’t help himself but send a message to the Dutch, inviting him to celebrate.

People may think he was doing it out of sheer spite, but Daniel knew how much the boy could beat himself up for these kind of mistakes, even though it was not his fault, but just a technical problem.

In addition, he was aware of Max’s father presence at the race and that only worsened Dan’s fear of leaving the younger one alone, thinking about how that man could have put even more pressure on the boy.

Max though, politely declined the offer, saying he was exhausted and probably going to bed early, but to party for him as well. Daniel didn’t believe any of the words he read on the screen of his IPhone, but decided to ignore it and send him a simply “Good night”.

That’s why when he approached the door of his motorhome, he was a little bit startled seeing someone sagged on the front step. After the little wave of panic that hit him at first (he immediately thought of someone wanting to abduct him, but he was inside of a freaking circuit. _How many chances were there?_ ), he approached the slumbered figure, everything so dark he couldn’t even see where he was stepping.

Well, there were lights, but they were far too distant and faint, just a little orangey tint haloing Daniel’s body from behind. Plus, he was still _slightly_ tipsy as well, so everything seemed blurred and dimmed anyway.

He carefully placed a hand on the shoulder of what seemed a man, and said in a quivering voice “Hey dude, you okay?”

He had definitely not seen it coming, when the man lifted his head to meet his gaze and found out it was actually Max.

At first, the boy was a bit confused, trying to squeeze his eyes to understand who was talking, but felt relieved when he recognized it was just Daniel. He opened his unfocused pupils just a hint more and replied with a breathy “Dan”, and smiled after.

Daniel was surprised to find the Dutch there, especially after he had said he was going to bed early. At the end though, he was relieved knowing it was just his teammate and not an abductor or something like that.

He tried to joke saying “What are you doing here, in the middle of the night?”, following that with a little laugh, but became immediately serious when he saw the boy’s eyes, redder than usual, and smelled the scent of alcohol coming from the younger’s one breath. 

Max frowned his brows and looked at the ground, thinking intensely to find an answer, but nothing came out of his throat, like even himself didn’t know why he was there.

Scared by the sudden silence, Daniel tried to squat in front of him, trying to make his gaze meet Max’s. He knew he could hold alcohol just fine, but if he was in such a state, it meant he ingested a lot of booze, not just the normal amount to get a little bit woozy.

Daniel’s hand didn’t drop for one second from his shoulder, thinking that the boy could have collapsed any time soon, but when he directed his eyes in that direction he found out a red imprint on the younger’s neck, seeming to follow underneath his shirt. That caused the Aussie to become hyper alert of the situation, and try to expose to the dim light the redness of the mark, causing Max to flinch and groan in pain.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Daniel tried to ask, such worry in his voice, but the younger one just began to mumble “Ik wou je zien….Het spijt me, alsjeblieft. Alsjeblieft.” and panic, stumbling on his words with labored breath.

“Hey, hey. Just English, _please_? I’m not a Dutch language master yet” he said, trying to downplay the situation, but Max’s unfocused eyes began to concern the Aussie even more. He mentally thought of slapping him, just to wake him up for good, but decided not to worsen the situation even further.

After a big breath, it seemed that Max was concentrating enough to elaborate his thoughts in English and eventually said “Wanted to see you. Jus’ you. The victory. Goo’ job, Dan. Goo’ job.”

Daniel couldn’t suppress a smile, seeing the younger one so concerned and slightly calmer, but he didn’t actually believe that was the reason why Max had come to visit him in the middle of the night.

“Are you sure that’s why you’ve come? Is everything alrigh’?” he asked, his eyes still full of apprehension, and exhaustion making its way through his limbs, as his Australian accent began to thicken.

Max didn’t respond, but just took a deep quavery sigh, the smell of ethanol filling the air between them. At this point, Daniel suggested coming with him inside, maybe to sober up and take a glass of water.

When the Dutch didn’t seem to move at the request, Dan tried to make him stand up taking his elbow, his hands softly touching his skin sprinkled with goosebumps, and so careful not to squeeze stronger than necessary, just in case there were other bruises.

Daniel fumbled for his keys to open the door, while trying to hoist Max on his unbalanced legs and finally stepped inside his motorhome, guiding his friend through the stairs by hand.

When he flicked the lights on, Max just winced by the sudden light and took his hand to his eyes, rubbing them fiercely. For a moment Dan thought he was really like a child, groaning and moaning for the simplest things while he was still half-asleep.

The image though, was suddenly replaced by the vision of the bruise spread across his friend neck, so red and neat under the artificial light, and another one blooming just under his collarbone, ugly black and purple.

In a moment, Dan became so furious and irrational that began to shake Max’s elbow, saying in a stern voice “ _What happened?_ ” in need of an answer.

He really tried until that point to make up a fair excuse on his mind, like it was a mere accident, maybe an accidental fall or a mistake during training. But Daniel knew it wasn’t like that, and seeing the injury in plain sight just confirmed his hypothesis. It seemed like someone had just pinned Max on the wall. No, _crushed_ him. And tried to suffocate him in the making as well.

The Aussie had very few ideas who could have been (actually, he had just _one_ ), but decided not to push it and see if Max would have answered him.

Needless to say, the boy didn’t explain such, and just began to shake like a leaf, taken aback by Dan’s sudden burst of anger. He tried to mumble some bits here and there, stuttering “I – I’m – I” but nothing else came out, leaving Dan so distraught and full of regret, guilt already bubbling at the pit of his stomach.

After a moment, when Daniel had already calmed down and beaten himself mentally, Max tried to meet his gaze and say something, but was abruptly hit by a wave of nausea, making him trip on his way to the bathroom.

He heaved in the toilet, crouching on the floor and clasping at the edges, while his eyes were becoming watery and snot was coming out of his nostrils. He felt bile burning his esophagus, and can’t help himself but coughing and spitting, like it would alleviate him from the sting.

Daniel followed as soon as he had seen Max sprinting to the restroom door, and calmly swat beside him, taking his friend’s forehead to his palm to sustain him, while making circles on his back with the other hand.

The Dutch seemed to cry in pain once in a while, like when he was feeling another wave of vomit was coming or when he had just finished puking, acid inflaming his throat, and Dan tried to shush him in every was possible, caressing his hair, moving blonde strands out of his eyes or swinging his hand up and down his bicep.

Finally, when it was like Max had thrown up even his innards, he shied away from his friend’s touch and simply put his forehead on the toilet seat, huffing big breaths and calming himself.

Daniel was trying to be useful and go and take a glass of water, but was stopped by the hasty sob that escaped from Max’s lips, and didn’t think twice when he whispered a gentle “Come here” and took his friend on his arms.

The older one thought about asking what was going on, between reassuring words and shushing (Where did he took all the alcohol? Why he had reduced himself such in this state? But most importantly, _who_ the fuck did that to him?), but knew he wouldn’t have had answers anyway, so he put it aside and waited the boy to calm down, hugging him closer whenever he sobbed louder.

The stark white tiles made a huge contrast whit their black clothes, like an ink stain on a paper sheet, the lights so bright they made Daniel’s eyes sting, while a headache was building up into his skull.

The way they stood there (with Dan resting his back on the wall and his legs stretched, while Max was literally on top of him, sprawled on his lap like a cat) made them slowly falling asleep, once the younger one had calmed down, replacing the whimpers with short breaths.

For once, the Aussie seemed to be the responsible between the two, so he decided to try and stand up, knowing that if they were going on like that, they would have probably sit there the entire night.

He slowly caressed Max’s cheek, whose breath caught for just a moment, surprised by the touch, and whispered in the still air of the night “C’mon, we have to get up. We can’t stay here forever.”

The Dutch growled in response, but tried to rise up, offering Dan a hand to help him stand. They both stared at each other’s eyes briefly, a little disoriented and not knowing what to do.

Gently, Dan took Max’s hand and guided him toward his bedroom, shutting the bathroom door and trying not to make his friend trip over the stairs to his bed, telling him to crouch because the ceiling was too low.

Now, Max seemed to have regained some consciousness and a little of color in his face, compared to the white mask of sick he had while puking, so he undid the sheets of Dan’s bed and slid underneath them, while the other one went to the kitchen and came back with two glasses of water.

Neither of them had uttered a word, and the Aussie couldn’t help himself but stroking his friend’s cheek; at the contact, Max just closed his eyes and sighed deeply, finally at peace.

“What happened?” Daniel tried to say once again, voice hoarse and tired, but the Dutch didn’t care to answer, eyelids still closed while enjoying the strokes on his face.

“Please, Max, talk to me. I need to know. _Please._ ” the beseeching tone of his friend made Max flutter his lashes and stare at Dan’s brown eyes, so full of worry and angst.

“I-” he tried to answer, but the voice was still rough from vomiting, so he cleared his throat and used that moment to recollect his memories and thoughts.

“My father came to talk to me after the race.” and that’s what made Daniel’s heart to skip a beat, not because he was surprised, but because his ideas were finally confirmed (but still, he was not prepared to actually hear Max saying that words, the voice a little husky and broken).

“My father came and he- He was so angry because I went DNF. I tried to say it was not my fault and I had nothing to do with it, I swear it was the power unit, but he didn’t want to listen.”

At this point, Max took a big a breath and Daniel didn’t stop for one second to stroke his cheek, seeing tears forming at the corners of his friend’s eyes.

“He took me by the shoulder and pinned me to the wall, and when I was trying to- was trying to explain myself he just…He just choked me, saying that excuses wouldn’t have done anything.”

When he finished to speak, Daniel was so furious and boiling with anger that he thought for one second to leave Max and start searching for that bastard, even though he was far away (actually, Amsterdam was just forty minutes away from the circuit, so Daniel could have just beat the shit out of him _later_ ).

Instead, he tried to calm down and just be there for his friend, who had started to cry and hyperventilate a bit, at the thought of the past events. Daniel instantly put him into his arm once again, stroking his hair and just hugging tighter than he could, a reminder that he was there.

“I’m gonna kill that cunt, I swear to god Maxy, I’m gonna kill him if he tries to lay a hand on you another time.” He spit out, trying to contain his outrage and clenching and unclenching his fists on Max’s sides.

The Dutch then continued, “I wanted to just not think about anything. And I remembered I had some vodka in one of the cabin, you know, for celebration of some sort, and I drank it straight from the cap. I don’t remember anything else though, not even stepping outside and looking for you. Sorry.”

The boy finished with hurry and guilt in his voice, trying to explain why he was bothering Daniel in the middle of night, but didn’t find an answer. He then just remained there, shivering and hiccupping between Dan’s arms, curling up against him and trying to be smaller than he actually was.

“There is nothing to apologize for, Maxy.” Daniel hurried to say, “Just promise me that the next time, even if there _won’t be_ , you come straight to me, okay? And you don’t drink yourself to death. I can’t stand the thought of you wasted god-knows-where, let alone if something _worse_ happens.”

At this point, Dan’s head inevitably filled with awful images (Max just broken and full of bruises standing in some shitty hotel room, completely passed out and laying on the floor unconscious, his phone left in his pocket ringing and ringing and-), so he just squeezed his friend even more tightly, grounding himself and reminding that Max was here and safe in his arms.

When they both calmed down, Daniel just thought of it for one second, but then didn’t hesitate when he took Max’s head in his hands and begun to kiss his wet eyelids. He needed him to know he was loved and safe and cared for.

He then moved to his cheeks and to his red neck, like his lips could have taken away the pain, and finally moved to his mouth, tasting the salty flavor of tears. The kiss was languid and slow, like they were taking all the time in the world.

At first, Max was taken by surprise, startled like a deer in the headlights, with his mind already a whirlwind of thoughts and ideas and fears ( _What do I do? Why am I liking this? I’m not gay I’m not but why I’m loving it and his lips and his hands on me and-)_ , but when Daniel tried to push his tongue in and tried to lick the roof of his mouth, he just abandoned himself to the Aussie, who certainly knew what he was doing. 

A little clumsily, he tried to reach for Dan, his hands shaking a bit, but found it extremely easy, the way he was trailing patterns on the other one’s hips, just below his shirt. He needed flesh and heat and something to hold onto, while he was slowly falling apart under Daniel’s touch.

They didn’t go further on though, both too exhausted to do anything more than making out, but they laid there for a while, kissing gently and fully for the longest time, seeking each other’s comfort.

When they finally broke apart, a little bit out of breath, they just stood there looking at each other’s eyes, head empty and mouths swollen. In the end, Daniel found some courage and whispered, “We’ll talk tomorrow. Now sleep.” with almost a hint of doubt, not knowing if Max wanted to actually stay there with him, and _definitely_ not talking about it.

He knew it was something they absolutely needed to do, but now it wasn’t just the right moment, and everything could have been delayed just for a bit more.

Max looked at Daniel’s chocolate brown eyes and nodded, flipping his body so the Aussie could press against his back and slid an arm across his waist, the need of being held and protected humming underneath his skin.

They both fall asleep when the sun was just rising, unbothered of their problems and any care of the world, just the two of them _existing_ in their little microcosm.

**Author's Note:**

> "Ik wou je zien….Het spijt me, alsjeblieft. Alsjeblieft." – “I wanted to see you…I’m sorry. Please. Please.” in Dutch
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and bookmarks are really appreciated.  
> You can find my tumblr [here](https://vershstappen.tumblr.com/)


End file.
